Brome Mosaic Virus

Brome mosaic virus (BMV) is a small (28 nm, 86S), positive-stranded, icosahedral RNA plant virus belonging to the genus Bromovirus, family Bromoviridae, in the alphavirus-like superfamily. BMV commonly infects Bromus inermis (see Bromus) and other grasses, can be found almost anywhere wheat is grown, and thrives in areas with heavy foot or machinery traffic. It is also one of the few grass viruses that infects dicotyledonous plants; however, it primarily infects monocotyledonous plants, such as barley and others in the family Gramineae. BMV was first isolated in 1942 from bromegrass (Bromus inermis), had its genomic organization determined by the 1970s, and was completely sequenced with commercially available clones by the 1980s.